Merpati Putih to compliment my Kali training?

Discussion in 'Silat' started by hellopeople, Jul 18, 2011.

  1. hellopeople

    hellopeople New Member

    Hi everyone,

    I have been training Kali for about a year now. It is unfortunately once a week. There are some other martial arts near where I live, but I would like to pick one that will compliment my Kali training. I found a place where people focus on Merpati Putih silat. I was wondering if it would be beneficial to train.

    Thank you in advance for the feedback.
     
  2. nasigoreng

    nasigoreng Valued Member

    Merpatih Putih is more of an internal art focusing on breathing, mediation, physical conditioning, and "sport silat" (olah raga). As a Kali-Silat player, I don't think it would "flow" like kali.

    My first recommendation would be, if you are not already at a Jeet Kun Do (JKD) school, try to find one in your area. JKD instructors under Guru Inosanto also tend to play with Filipino (and Indonesian) Martial Arts.

    If you can't find a JKD school, you could go for wing chun kung fu, which would help with your trapping. As far as Silat, Mande Muda or Cimande would be better than MP.

    One Filipino Escrimador studied Judo and Karate, blended it with Escrima, and called it "escrido." So, in the end, what matters is that you can make it work together.
     
  3. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    That'd be Ciriaco "Cacoy" Canete, grandmaster of one branch of Doce Pares Eskrima. And, as you said, founder of "Eskrido."

    As to the larger question, I agree with the recommendation to find a JKD school with a REPUTABLE instructor in Guro Dan Inosanto's lineage. Primarily because they've been combining silat with kali for donkey's years now. That said, various teachers are going to have varying levels of expertise or interest in silat specifically. Some JKD Concepts guys might gravitate more toward other influences. So there's a part of me that believes that seeking out a specialist in silat is better, if that's your real interest.

    I think the similarities are going to outweigh the differences, overall. I haven't got much direct experience with silat. Just brief exposures from JKD. But based on what I've seen of silat, blending the two certainly is possible.

    One other point: People talk a lot about "complementary arts." But what constitutes a complementary art differs a lot based on your actual goals. People might find it vital to have a standup art (kickboxing) coupled with a groundfighting art (BJJ). Or an empty hand coupled with a weapons-based art. Etc.

    In this case, you're looking at two weapons-based arts from Southeast Asia. Now, to me, that feels complementary. Because I enjoy the cultural insights as much as anything else. But you're going to have a fair amount of technical overlap in those two arts. That's my sense, anyway.


    Stuart
     

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